Abstract
Abstract Hydrocarbon extracts of coal samples from major coal fields in West Germany have been investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The samples are of Carboniferous and Tertiary age and derive from limnic and paralic environments, the Saar District, the Ruhr Area and the Lower Rhine Basin. Differences in facies, maturity and age reflected in the distribution patterns of the extracted alkylcyclohexanes. An unexpected occurrence of cyclic diterpenoid hydrocarbons in some samples of Carboniferous age has been found. The tetracyclic compounds mainly show phyllocladane type structures and can serve as source indicators. Hydrocarbons obtained from chemical degradation of the macromolecular material of the samples also revealed phyllocladane-type compounds which are normally associated to resins of modern and extinct familes of conifers. Origin and structural variations of this class of hydrocarbons are discussed in terms of maturity and palaeobotanical implications.
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